Refrigerator car



Nov. 1, 1932. REYNOLDs 1,835,225

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed May 13, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l Tic l BNVENTOR ATTORNEY Nov. L 1932; I D. L. REYNOLDS REFRIGERATOR GAR Filed May 13. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 OIN VENTOR m AFy/m/ds B {@440 ATTO R N EY NGV. 1, 1932., D, L, fiEYN LDS 1,886,225

REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed May 13, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 190 7a 1.1%? /dt5 B fi W ATTORNEY 1932- D. L. REYNOLDS l,8fi,2

REFRIGERATOR .CAR

Filed May 13. 1929 4 Sheets-$heet 4 INVENTOR ATTO R N EY Patented Nov. 1 1932 iJNlTEDsTA'rEf DAMI NL. REYNOLDS, or HILLSBOROUGH, 'cALiFonNIa-nssIe on or ONE-HALF TO LUTHER L. YATES, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA REFBIGERATQR CAR.

Application filed May 13, 1929. Serial No..362,674.-

'Whilethe car is in transit, such drainage is not apt to be harmful, ascoinparatively little water is discharged in any particular spot. However, it often happens that the cars with ice in the bunkers are left for long periods without unloading, as in switching yards, or sidings. Under such circumstances, the drainage may causeserious corrosion of the equipment associated with the right'of way. Expensive switching mechanism and electrical equipment may. in fact become so damaged as to hamper efficient operation thereof; and thus not only is there a-direct loss due to the damage to the equipment, but alsoa serious loss in the efficiency due to the derangement of the apparatus, interfering withits efiective operation. This serious condition is rendered still worse by the addition to the .ice of such materialas salt, or calcium compounds, which may be used for lowering the temperature at which the ice melts. Un-

, der such circumstances, the drainage is much more harmful, for corrosion is facilitated.

It is one of the objects of' my invention to obviate all these'disadvantages, and especially by providing a storage space in which to make it possible to-empty the collected Water rapidly, so that the train ofrefrigerators: can be serviced 'without undue' delay.

Myinvention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a",con-

sideration of several embodiments of my vention. For this purpose I have shown a 'fewforms in the drawings accompanying and forming part ofthe present specification. I shall now proceed to describe these forms in detail, which: illustrate the general printo be taken in a limiting sense,since the scope of my invention is best defined b th .p l d'claims. I I.

Referring tothe drawings: 'F'gure lis a side elevation of a portion of a refrigerator car'embodying'my ,inven.-.

tion, the ice bunker beingshowl l in section;

Fig. 21s a transverse section thereof, taken along plane 2 2 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section, taken along plane 33 of Fig. 2; l I I I Fig. dis a detail sectiontaken along plane 4r4co'fFig.8 i Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic planview ,showing the piping. associated with the car, and

which forms a partofmyinvention;

ig. ,6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the lower portionof the ice bunker in a car that is a modification ofithat shown in Figs. 1 to 4;

Fig. 7 is a'sectional view,.taken along plane 7 7 of Fig. 6; i i i Fig. 8 is adiagrammatic longitudinal sec- 9'is a diagrammaticplan view thereof. In the form shown in Figs; 1 to 5, inc1usive, I indicate arefrigerator car body 11 the .69 ciples of my lnventlon; but t 1s tobe u iderstood that this detailed descriptionis not tion of a further modifiedform of ,refr1gerator car; and

walls and roof of which. can be constructed in anyconventionallway. At each endof the car is located an ice bunker or compattmfipt 12 separated from the cargo compartment .13 as by bulkheads 1% The bunker 12 in this e instance is shown as provided :with a wire mesh basket 15 into, which ice can {be loaded as through the hatches 16. I

Asthe ice melts, I make provisions for cqllecting and later discharging the ter re- 119 Ishall now describe.

sulting therefrom. For this purpose, I permit the ice to rest in a deep metal pan 17 in the bottom of the bunker 12. This pan has a sloping or converging bottom to an outlet that is arranged to be opened to discharge the liquid, in a manner to be hereinafter described. ""It is to be noted that the pan 17 has a turned in edge 18, to ensure against slopping of the liquid collected therein. The pan 17 of course is rigidly held in place, and it has sufficient strength to support the ice loaded thereon. t is also provided .with .,a series of splash plates or surge bafies 52, that are apertured to permit the collected waterto pass freely between the compartments.

As shown most clearlyin "Fig. 3, the bot- ,tom of pan 17 is arranged in this instance to discharge into a pipe 19. This pip-e passes through the flooring 20 of the car, the flooring, just as the walls and roof, being heat insulated in any conventional manner.

Flange 21 of pipe 19 fastens to the outlet 22 of panf17; This outlet'is normally closed by a valve closure 23. This closure is arranged 5 to be operated to discharge the liquid into storage tanks 24:, 25 (Figs. '1 and 5) supported beneath the carll and joined as by pipes '26, 27 to the outlet pipe 19 for each ice bunker. "The tanks are also provided with a connecting pipe 28 to' ensure that both tanks will be simultaneously filled. Drain cocks can be located near the bottom of each tank, 'such as-indicated M29; or alternately, a drain-cock 30 can be provided near the bottom of the outlet pipe 19. An additional cook 53 can be providedto control communication to tanks 24, 25. Thus the liquid can, if desired, be discharged to atmosphere directly instead of to the tanks, by closing these valves.

of their liquid contents as needed by. attendants, and to store the liquid-in the tanks 25, '24 until such a locality can be reached where the storage tanks 25, 24 can be harmlessly discharged. Furthermore, it is advantageous so to arrange the valve mechanism that the pan 17 can be quickly emptied, once thevalve is lifted from its seat. For this purpose I provide a siphon device, one form of which Referring more particularlyto Figs. 2 and valve 23 is shownas formed of a hollow tube, having a conical bottom portion cooperating with the outlet opening in outlet 22. Surrounding this'tube is -a stationary shell 31 fastened to the bottom of pan 17 I It has anopenin 32 at its bottom part, to permit liquid to ow from the pan 17 upwardly in liquid will rise in shell 31 and flow out through the top of valve 23 at a very rapid rate.

This siphoning can be initiated by merely lifting the valve 23. It continues until the liquid is reduced to the level of aperture 32, when the siphon breaks."

In order to permit manual operation of valve 23, I provide a central stationary guide rod 33, and uponithis rod is slidablea pair of spiders34, 35fastened to the inside of .valve,23., The valve is thus guided in its vertical movement. A fork 36 encompasses the valve, and is pivoted thereto at diametrically opposite points thereof, as by the aid of pins'37 "'(Figpet) The fork 36 alsocarries arear'ear 38 by the aid'of which it is pivoted to the inside of shell 31. It is apparent that rotation of fork 36 in a clockwisedirection about the pivot of ear 38 as viewed in Fig. 3 will cause valve 23 be lifted. To accomplish this rotatioii,"Iprovide an arm 39 fastened to fork .36, and extending near the edge of pan 17. This arm can be moved by a link 10 leading to the hatch opening 16 where it is provided witha convenient handle 41 for manual operation at the top of the car 11.

In the form just described, the emptying of pans17 is accomplished intermittently, in order to retain as much liquid therein for as long a time'as possible. Since the liquid formed from the melted ice is yet cool,'this not absolutely essential. In the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 I show ordinary'drain's12 M r protected Ias'by guards 43, located beneath It is intended that the pans 17 be emptied the ice grate 4C4. These drains-lead the liquid into tanks beneaththe car, through pipes 4&1.

No appreciable amount of liquid can collect in the bottom of the ice bunker.

V A drain cock 4.5mm be provided at a low point of the atmosphere instead of into the tanks.

In some instances it may be advisableto lead the cool liquid to the cargo compartment in-a thin stream so that it can more readily absorb heat and impart'moisture-to the compartment.- Such a form is shown diagrammatically in Figs. 8 and 9.

' In'these figures, thestorage tanks 46,- 4

are located beneath the center of the car'fioor. The fiooring48is made preferably ofmetal, and forms a waterproof pan extending beneath thecice bunkers 49. The floor slopes to the centerwhere there is a transverse groove 51. In this groove are located one or more drains 50 leading directly into thetanks 46, 4:7. 1 As the ice melts, it trickles'onto floor 48, and finds its way to the center of the car and finally to groove 51, drains 50, and tanks 46 and 47. The central channel or groove 51 communicates With the side longitudinal channels 55, 56. These in turn communicate with the transverse channels 57, 58 near the bulkheads.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car, means forming an ice bunker therein, means forming a storage space beneath the car, a pan having turned in edges in the bottom of the bunker, and means for draining the pan into'the storage space.

2. In a refrigerator car, an ice bunker,

hand.

DAMIAN L. REYNOLDS. 

